Speaking at the Adviser Innovation Digital Marketing Boot Camp last week, Mr Wastle said digital marketing is an integral part of an advice firm's long-term business plan since it has a "significant" business impact.

"If we couldn't build a brand online, we'd have to consider whether the business is worth pursuing long term. The online world is the world that we live in," Mr Wastle said, according to ifa sister publication Adviser Innovation.

Mr Wastle explained that digital marketing and the use of social media is a long-term business investment.

"Our belief is that almost everything we do when it comes to social is a long-term play. It's about building resonance, finding people that connect to your messages, [and] it's about adding value to them over a period of time."

Mr Wastle said using social media allows advisers to build trust with current and potential clients. It also allows advisers to show value, authority and credibility – on the back of which the adviser can expect more leads and more clients over time.

Wealth Enhancers financial adviser and coach, Christine Dang, echoed Mr Wastle's sentiment. She argued that social media is an important investment for an advice firm to make.

"It's about being in the back of someone's mind and provoking thought, and potentially somewhere down the line when something is right in their lives [they will seek our help]," Ms Dang said.

While social media does not bring immediate results, it will have an impact on sales in the long term, she said.

"It's never really led to a meeting with someone immediately but it allows us to keep in the back of someone's mind, in a way that phone [call] or email probably wouldn't," she added.

Ms Dang said advisers considering digital marketing must have a clear idea of what their brand is and the message they are trying to send.